The 'Shroom:Issue 100/Pipe Plaza

Director’s Notes

Hello 'Shroom readers! It is great to see you here, and hopefully throughout the past 99 issues, as today is the 100th issue of The 'Shroom.

Some readers may have noticed that I was absent last issue, well that technical mishap has now been sorted and I'm back again. However, I'd like to continue something started by Gabumon (talk) last issue, and that is actual news for these notes. We start on a sad one as Driftmaster130 (talk) has been fired from his position of Community Report, which means that any of you people can send me an application on the forums and apply. We also do not have New Articles this issue. Now onto happier news, Crocodile Dippy (talk) has sent in a guest Community Report, so at least that feature is present in this month's issue, we also have Upcoming Games return to Pipe Plaza with Pyro Guy (talk) still writing it, and we also have the Forum Update return as MrConcreteDonkey (talk) is now filling that position again.

Monthly Report

Hello 'Shroom readers, and welcome to the 54th Monthly Report section written on The 'Shroom. The only thing I have to say before going to the tables is that if I continuously write this section, then the 100th Monthly Report section would happen in Issue 146, 3 years and 10 months later. Anyways, I will show this month's statistics and compare them to last month's statistics. Let's-a go!

Community Report

Allo allo, this here be Crocodile Dippy, your beloved Critic Corner director (shameless plug) who is here to keep YOU, as our dear readers, up-to-date on all the latest goings ons around the Wiki. Or at least in terms of its recent proposals, which is basically all I'm covering because very else of major interest has actually happened; only one promotion happened and it was months ago, so y'know, we're a bit lacking in the exciting stuff that gets our blood pumping, chanting for more like the Romans did in the Coliseum. But hey, plenty of proposal action going on, and hopefully this can bring you back into the groove of what changes are geared for the Wiki, and what you may be able to contribute to yourself.

Oh also, remember that the MarioWiki's 10th Anniversary is coming up soon, so be sure to check out the Awards Ceremony being prepared for the occasion. It'll be a good one this year, I just know it!

Now... ONWARDS!

(credit to YoshiKong (talk) for previously developing this coded table system, with some alterations by me)

Proposed to amend rule 9 which states that a tied proposal would have its deadline extended by a week, with the intended amendment being that tied proposals with multiple proposed changes would remove the change with the least votes, leaving only one proposed change and the opposition.

Proposed to split Atomic Boo from the Big Boo page, insisting that it was different enough to be covered in its own article. Two potential changes were proposed, the first intending to give each Atomic Boo a separate page, and the second intending to simply have the one page for each Atomic Boo.

Tying in to the previous Blurp proposal, this one proposed two possible means to reorganise Red Blurp and Blue Blurp, either by identifying Red Blurp as Boss Bass in accordance with Blurps being identified as Cheep Cheeps, or simply splitting the two into their own individual pages.

Tip of the Month

Welcome, readers! For this monumental issue of The Shroom, I'd like to give a few tips on how to make your Shroom application piece the best it can be for when you submit it!

1. Fill out all of the requirements, especially the full-length demo section. Write this part as if you had already been accepted and this is your regular-length article. If you don't give the editors enough to read, they're going to doubt what you as a writer can do, especially if the section in question needs to be a longer section, like a video game or music review.

2. Use correct spelling and grammar. This one should come as a no-brainer, but if your writing is hard to read, you won't be accepted. In addition, if you are submitting a longer section, make sure to put paragraph breaks in. No one likes reading a straight wall of text with no breaks in it at all, and it can be confusing if you lose your place in the middle.

3. Use proper Wiki Coding. Trust me, it makes a massive difference when you link to an article of the game you're talking about, or if you italicize something that needs to be italicized. Write the section like you're writing an article on the Wiki

4. Keep in mind the rules for explicit content. Occasional swearing is fine, but you need to put a warning template with your article if you do decide to include profanity.

5. Be creative! This is your chance to sound more alive than when writing a regular wiki article. Let your normal style and attitude come through. People are more willing to read your work if you sound like an actual person with a personality rather than a piece of wood.

NIWA News

Good day, readers! This is Ghost Jam, one of the resident undead and longtime staffers here on Super Mario Wiki! I thought I'd talk a little about NIWA this time, if you all don't mind.

If you're unaware of NIWA, or have maybe seen the link boxes here and there on the wiki but never clicked, here's a brief summary of what NIWA is and what it does for us. NIWA stands for Nintendo Independent Wikis Alliance and its main goal is to foster cooperation and collaboration between the various Nintendo themed Wikis around the internet. This connection between fandoms allows users to expand what they know, who they know, and help build all new bodies of information. In short, it helps us all to grow. This is apt, when we consider that NIWA is also the Japanese word for "garden", and, like any garden, it will only flourish with care.

And on that note, please allow me to introduce our newest friends. Covering the still young but nonetheless amazing franchise Splatoon, I ask that all reading extend a hardy MarioWiki hello to the newest flower in the garden, Inkipedia. Brought to us by the kind Lumoshi, Inkipedia seeks to become a hub for all things Splatoon. Already they have a number of interesting, well-written articles, and show signs of growing by the day, and I hope we'll all be working together in making them feel welcome, perhaps even signing up for their forums, helping to edit articles, or participating in their Splatoon competitions.

A few notes for local editors, when linking articles to Inkipedia, please phrase your links as:
[[inkipedia:PAGE TO BE LINKED TO|name of article]]

That's about it for this month, but don't worry. As we evolve and grow, so to will NIWA and the many flowers within. I encourage all our readers to spread out and explore this lovely community garden we're all tending together and see for yourselves what can be found.

Forum Update

Hi, I'm MCD, and welcome back to the Forum Update! Well, I say back...I did stop writing for this section about, uh, two years ago? But I'm sure you all remember that I used to write this...right? Guys? I think I won Section of the Month once!

Unfortunately, since I've left, the Super Mario Boards have become a lot more boring. Nobody's getting fired, few people are getting banned, the whole Mafia thing seems to be slowing down...

Of course, the reason this has happened is because I have stopped writing the Forum Update. There's no other possibility; this is the only thing that could have happened. Therefore, the only solution is for me to start writing this again. And so it must be.

So, what happened on the forum in June?

Top Stories

To answer that, a grand total of one things happened on the Forum in June! Congratulations, guys, not one of you managed to get banned! Try harder next month. Please.

Rule 12 (regarding advertising) was lifted for the Fan Creations board, as people would often apply it to threads about fangames or YouTube channels (which do come under Fan Creations).

That's seriously everything. I'm not lying.

Statistics

203 new topics were created in June, and 14010 new posts were made. Amazingly enough, only 10 new users joined during June - that's the lowest in a full month we've ever had (only five joined in January 2008 but the forum was only up for four days by then). Again, I am entirely to blame for this and I will not accept any other conclusion. The most online at any point during June was 230.

This thread definitely went everywhere, exploring deeply the concept of memes themselves and when something can be considered a meme. It also brought forward many difficult questions: for example, "is mayonnaise a meme?", courtesy of Nabber (Nabber (talk)). However, what truly made the thread was the joke Walkazo (Walkazo (talk)) made, which is kinda hard to understand without the full context.

"Let's cut off the gulf stream! That *bleep*er's been messing with the climate for too long! It is time we claim the coldness that is rightfully ours!" ~ Peridot (Gabumon (talk)) on the recent heatwave

Mafia

Well, it's impossible to talk about Mafia without talking about Awards Mafia V, hosted by myself, Smasher and Superchao. Of course, by now, sign-ups will be closed, but that doesn't mean you can't sign up as a replacement. Once the game starts and half of the players don't actually do anything, I'm sure you'll have a great time.

Birthday Wishes

G'day everyone, a simple section I thought might be nice for the community; Birthday Wishes, a concise collection of the birthdays for every notable User in the community for each month! In this issue, we're in the middle of July, so here are all the folks who have added another year to their existences, alongside what they're notable around the Wiki and its extensions for. Hope you enjoy!

Anniversary Announcements

I still can't get over it. As you may know, Satoru Iwata, Global President of Nintendo Co., Ltd., has passed away on 11 July. We all have good memories of him, and Nintendo will not be the same without him. My condolences go to all of his family, friends, and colleagues.
Thank you, Iwata-san. You will always be in our hearths.

Welcome to a new edition of Anniversary Announcements.

Before I go on about the Awards, I'd like to congratulate the staff team of The 'Shroom with this milestone of the 100th issue! Congratulations guys, that many may follow!

So the polls have closed at the 17th, and the results are being calculated. That doesn't end the fun however, because earlier this month, the presentation sign-ups have opened. This means that you, yes you, can present the results of up to four awards at the Ceremony next month. Sign up here! But note, full is full.

Single Battles have ended, and have produced winners! Congratulations to Timmy for winning the Nintendo 3DS version and to Cirdec for winning the Wii U version!
Sign-ups for Double Battles have closed.

These Tournaments award participants with Tokens to spend on prizes based on their performance. These prizes do not come from Yoshi Eggs, so if you are interested in donating such prizes, please contact Hypnotoad or Smasher on the Boards. Recommended items include all sorts of gift cards and Steam items. We are grateful for any donations!

And that shall be it for this monthly update on stuff that happened in the past month. Until next month and enjoy the rest of this special Issue!

All information above is correct as of 15 July.

Upcoming Games

Hello, readers, and welcome to the newest article of Upcoming Games. Today, I'll be talking about Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam, and also Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, both games that were announced at E3 this year. There were a few more Mario related games featured, but I'm only doing these two.

The fifth game in the Mario and Luigi series, and the second series game for the 3DS, Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam is set not only in the world of the Paper Mario RPGs, but also the Mario and Luigi RPGs too. The short but simple story is as follows; Luigi knocks over a book. The world of Paper Mario falls out. Silly Luigi! Characters like Starlow are confirmed to appear in-game, and most main characters like Bowser and Toad will have a paper-like form. What is new to the series is to be able to play as three characters simultaneously: Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario! (Partners in Time does not count, because you never control all four at the same time, only two at a time) And this time, the trio have some new tricks up their cotton/paper sleeves- for instance, they can hammer each other's Hammers to create a larger, even explosive shockwave. Another new gimmick is Paper Mario's new ability to clone himself into a dozen Paper Marios, able to unleash stronger and more complex attacks. And the same goes for any paper enemies, such as Koopa Paratroopas.

Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam will be released in all regions in Spring 2016.

Next, we have Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. This Wii U exclusive is set to be released in all regions in the holidays, and contains new features, updated graphics, and a new technique- the Jumpshot. Right now, the only playable characters are Mario, Peach, Bowser and Toad, there is only one confirmed court (a generic grass one), but there should be lots more on the way. A new gameplay addition is using a Mega Mushroom to... power up... your game, leaving us to assume that many more iconic power-ups, old and new, will appear too. To sum up, this looks like it could be a "reimagining" of Mario Tennis sticking close to the original formula while adding new things too.

Unfortunately, that's it for this month, but stay tuned for more articles on Upcoming Games!

Retro Feature

Hello, readers! I'm your Spotlight manager and Pipe Plaza Director, Yoshi876. Welcome to Retro Feature, a section in which I delve deep into the archives to bring you the best blasts from the past. This time I bring you something slightly different. I bring you The 'Shroom.

The 'Shroom has run continuously since its first issue, and although it has gone through times of hardship like writer droughts, late sections, and even a proposal trying to close it down forever, it has survived all of these and always comes out stronger.

When The 'Shroom started out, it had two teams: the Main Team and Fake News, but since then it was grown substantially. Fun Stuff was introduced in Issue XXIII, Palette Swap (originally under the name Music & Artwork) was introduced in Issue XXIX, Pipe Plaza was introduced in Issue XXXIII, Critic Corner was introduced in Special Issue 64, whilst the latest sub-team to join us: Strategy Wing was created this issue.

The 'Shroom has had over 188 different writers writing for it over its history, and that means many quality sections for you readers to enjoy over the course of several years. And I'm sure that all the previous writers, all the current writers, and all the future writers thank you for reading The 'Shroom and we all hope that you will continue to do so, so without further ado here are the beginnings of The 'Shroom.

Status Report

On the night of July 23, 2006, Bureaucrat Porplemontage okayed a Community Portal. I contacted Sysop Son of Suns, and informed him of the development, as he had been reccomended for the job. Well, in a turn of events, I became head of the project.

After some brainstorming, the name had been chosen, and I began searching code. The real work began on the morning of July 24. I was informed that Son of Suns was leaving on vacation. He wished me luck, and was gone. His other trustee, Wayoshi, was leaving the next day. This left me in charge of many things. Partially maintaining the wiki. Answering questions. And the Portal.

Wayoshi arrived on the scene, and helped out with a new template, the {{helpme}}. It reads:

I am looking for help!

Use {{helpme}} on your own talk page and ask your question belowFor more on how to use this feature, click here.

Note to helpers: once you have offered help, please remove this template.

You place the template on your talk page, and ask the question below. Sysops and experienced users check the helpme category and respond. When resolved, the template is removed by the sysop or experienced user.

Afterwards, the Trouble Center was added to the portal. Its where you can find all sorts of pages in need, and where to go to help them. You can also propose a project. Soon the 'Shroom will join the Trouble Center.

Editorial

Now, you may be thinking, "What's up with this? Aren't these Wikipedia Standards?" And, of course, you have the right to think this. But you're wrong. These are our standards. "Why?", you may ask? Because its required. By law. And because it should be there. And its easy. Just do it, or your work, no matter how common the knowledge is, no matter how factual, clean, informative it is-it will be deleted. So, please, cite your sources. Because that's life. And life goes on. And even after I've left, I expect cited sources.